(A Friend's text, but Topical)
-------------------------
What is hidden behind "Turkish" attempt to intimidate Christian Pope Benedict ?
--------------------------
(Hasty Note).
- What we can all see even at the Internet, looks bad, very bad.
(See below).
Such provocative gross insults, open threats, (neverseen anywhere else in the World !), attempts to intimidate (and exploit it afterwards to get concessions), cannot but have dangerously Undemocratic aims.
Benedictus, his close entourage and all his real Friends, should be also aware of something that many converging Facts have shown recently :
- Behind controversial and undemocratic Turkish State's wrongdoings often looms a Transnational Network with interests in unethical and dangerous BioGenetic Manipulation on Embryos and on Humans in general.
History has shown that those who stand for, or against this bigger issue, where all Humankind is at stake, played a role during the tragedy of late Pope John-Paul II's death (which occured at a crucial moment for BioEthics at International and Regional levels), as well as during his own Election, from Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope Benedictus XVI in 2005.
The Main Point here and now, in 2006, seems to be that,
Christian Pope Benedictus, well known for his friendly and close cooperation with late Pope John-Paul II, as well as for his strong Ethical stance on Human Values, added to Visionary aims towards reunification of Christians, etc.,
should be well protected in his SAFETY, IF he is led to go on to this controversial trip to Turkey.
But not only that : Substantial issues appear inter-linked, at the same moment :
Benedict's trip was Initially to meet Christian Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeus, as a symbolic step towards reUnification of Christians. (Even if the Autonomy of National Churches make some of them more important, and FREE to chose a strong stance : Something virtually impossible for anyone submitted to the millenary Constantinople's - changed by the Turks in "Istanbul" - subordination to Ankara's authorities).
But, after recent Turkish a.o. Pressure, Threats, Distortions, gross Insults, and even veiled or open Threats (during last months, and Now), another, related, obvious Risk are also attempts to INTIMIDATE, Mislead, oblige to change Agenda, and push to a slipery slope leaning towards imposing some Undemocratic and/or unethical; wrong steps, on some Key issues of Major Importance.
It all looks as if some wrongdoers searched to Exploit Intimidation in order to push at Dangerous, slipery Concessions.
=> All real Friends and close Assistants, as well as a spontaneous, conscious Popular support Worldwide, should help Christian Pope Benedict to stand Firm and Strong, overcome what appears to be a Sly Trap in Turkey, avoid or dissipate any Misleading attempts to Deviate, and Focus on realizing his main, most important Objectives, for the benefit of all honest and faithful people, Christians and even Humankind.
___________________________
At any case, the obviously worrying Facts surrounding this Dangerous and Slippery Turkish visit are clearly without any Precedent in any Other part of the World !
Woever might have orchestrated this obvious attempt to Intimidate, and Exploit it for Manipulating People at the service of Dark Interests, should be unmasked and fail in their Evil aims :
(A Turkish man, hidden behind a woman, arbors : "Go Home, Pope !").
("AP - Sun Nov 26, 8:02 AM ET
A Turkish woman, wearing a headband that reads:"...let the pope not come!' attends an anti-pope rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. Thousands of Turks gathered ..")
____________________________________
[i] << ...No one expects a quiet visit for Benedict. There have already been protests, the largest of which was Sunday, when an estimated 25,000 Turks denounced Benedict as an enemy of Islam.
* The rally was in Istanbul, the ancient Christian capital of Constantinople where the pope plans to meet the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
* On Wednesday, about 40 members of a Turkish nationalist party occupied Istanbul's famous Haghia Sophia — a former Byzantine church and mosque — and chanted slogans against the pope.
* Banners unfurled in Istanbul earlier this week depicted Bartholomew and Benedict as a two-headed snake. (sic !)
* "He's coming to advance the ambitions of the Christian world. I don't want him to come," said Sadik Kar, a 43-year-old computer salesman, after prayers at an Istanbul mosque."
"...He's expected to draw attention to the treatment of Christian minorities in the Islamic world, including the vestige of the once-thriving Greek Orthodox community in Turkey. Earlier this month, an EU progress report on Turkey's membership bid urged more steps to boost rights of non-Muslim religious groups.
Benedict's visit also will revive memories of an Italian priest, the Rev. Andrea Santoro, who was killed by a teenage gunman in his church on Turkey's Black Sea coast in February. The slaying came amid widespread protests over cartoons depicting Muhammad that were first published by a Danish newspaper. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061127/...lamic_outreach
----------------
<<TURKEY: SALES OF POPE MURDER BOOK SOAR AHEAD OF BENEDICT XVI'S VISIT
Istanbul, 23 Nov. (AKI) - Sales of a controversial Turkish novel on a conspiracy to kill Pope Benedict XVI are on the rise ahead of the pontiff's historical visit to Turkey beginning next Wednesday - his first to an overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
.....
Yuvel Kaya's book, which features Benedict XVI in front of a burning cross with a bearded gunman aiming a rocket launcher at him, is on sale at major Turkish bookstores such as D&R, Kabalci, Pandora.
Despite the absence of any promotional campaign - no billboards, posters or pamphlets at bookstores - sales are rapidly picking up, according to Lale Yilmaz from Kabalci, one the country's biggest book stores. .....
"More copies of the book have been bought over the last 10 days than any other time," Zeynep Yaman an employee with Alfa Dagitim, one of the six companies distributing the books, told AKI.
To date some 10,000 copies of the book have been sold, ...for Turkey, "in its category, more than average," Yaman said.
.....
On Wednesday .... a protest against Benedict XVI by a group of ultra-nationalist Turks in Istanbul's symbolic Hagia Sophia. An ancient Eastern Orthodox Church, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque by the Ottoman Turks after they conquered Constantinople. ....
In February a Muslim teenage boy shot dead an Italian Roman Catholic priest in the northern city of Trabzon. The killing which appeared to be religiously motivated took place at the height of worldwide protests by Muslims againt cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers.>>
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_En...362690282&par=
----------------------------------
"Anti-Benedict incident ..."
" Ibrahim Ak delivered ... fired a pistol outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and shouted that he wanted to strangle the pope with his bare hands.
"God willing, this will be a spark, a starter … God willing, he will not come. If he comes, he will see what will happen to him," the 26-year-old Turk said ..."
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/news/157672.php
________________
"FEAR OVER POPE VISIT TO TURKEY"
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11262006...worldnews_.htm
"Pope's Turkey trot danger "
"When Pope Benedict visits Turkey on Tuesday, he might want to stay out of the bookstores.
The cover of the country's best-selling novel shows him in front of a burning cross with a bearded man aiming a rocket launcher at him. The subtitle: "Who will kill the Pope in Istanbul?"
It's just a potboiler about an Opus Dei conspiracy, but given the passions Benedict ignited in September with his comments about Islam, his first visit to a predominantly Muslim country as Pope is guaranteed to be tense. And the book has some people worried.
The Vatican's Istanbul envoy, Georges Marovitch, told reporters he was concerned "that some abnormal types may read the book and get ideas." "
"No one has forgotten that the last person to shoot a Pope was a Turk. Indeed, Mehmet Ali Agca, who seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, warned Benedict from prison to stay away. "Your life is in danger. You absolutely must not come to Turkey," he wrote in a letter published in Italy."
"The Pope's four-day visit was originally meant to improve relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches. But the import of the trip was transformed ...onto the front lines of the growing clash of civilizations between Islam and the West."
"...churches were set aflame and a nun was murdered"
"Benedict's first stop is the shrine of Kemal Ataturk"
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_r...p-399272c.html
----------------------------------
"Thousands rally in Istanbul against papal visit"
"The demonstration, organized by the Islamist Felicity Party (SP) ..entitled entitled "The pope is not welcome","
""You must first apologize ....and then come to these sacred lands," SP leader Recai Kutan told the rally,
calling Benedict XVI "a representative of grudge and hatred"
....
... Others said: "Ignorant pope, read your own history!" and "Pope, go home!"
.... Some waved ...Chechen flags."
"The rally highlighted another sensitive point the pope's program here has touched -- his planned visit to Hagia Sophia, a sixth century Byzantine church converted to a mosque in 1453, when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople. ...
"Opponents say the pope's planned visit Thursday to the building,...is an indication of Christian ambitions to reclaim it as a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061126...o_061126145827
------------------------------
<<"Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience," the men chanted, holding up a Turkish flag and a banner identifying them as being from an Istanbul branch of the "Alperen Ocaklari" (Alperen Association), an ultra-nationalist and Islamist group.
The group is considered to be an offshoot of the "Grey Wolves," a Turkish right-wing militant group dating back to the 1970s. The man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca, was a member of the "Grey Wolves." >>
<<Pope Benedict's trip will include a visit to Aya Sofya.
"Controversy surrounds the museum, originally the Byzantine Empire's Hagia Sophia church, which is regarded by many as one of the greatest buildings in the world.
It was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and became a museum in 1935. Turkish nationalists regularly voice anger at what they say are attempts to turn it back into a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061122/...e_protest_dc_1
---------------
"Turks whip up storm of disapproval over Pope's Istanbul visit "
"Pope Benedict was given another warning yesterday of what lies ahead for him in Turkey when more than 20,000 people demonstrated against his coming visit in central Istanbul and urged him to stay at home. "
"The demonstration, ... was the latest in a series of protests against the visit, which begins in Ankara tomorrow.
"First a man fired a gun outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and yelled that he wanted to strangle the Pope."
" Last week, members of the so-called Grey Wolves, the Nationalist Movement Party to which Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried to assassinate Benedict's predecessor in 1981, belongs, invaded Hagia Sophia, the ancient cathedral-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul,...in protest."
"In a last-minute change to the schedule, the Vatican announced that as well as visiting Hagia Sophia, the Pope will also call in on the Blue Mosque..."
"HAGIA SOPHIA
The most delicate moment of the visit is on Thursday, when he goes to the ancient church, now a museum, which is regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many nationalists and Islamists will be watching keenly: if the Pope prays here (which is forbidden), it will confirm their grimmest suspicions about his desire to rebuild the Byzantine empire. "
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2018690.ece
-------------------------------
"....Press Wonders if Pope will Pray at Hagia Sophia "
"Although the stated main goal of the four-day trip was to fortify relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians, the visit gained another dimension in September .."
The Guardian capitalized on another dimension of the trip, writing that the pope’s visit to Hagia Sophia, “one of the most sacred sites in Christendom,” would be “the most delicate moment” of the trip.
The paper asked, “Will the pontiff pray at Hagia Sophia?” According to the
"The eight minutes he is to spend in the cavernous St Sophia's on Thursday afternoon will be watched and weighed for signals of the Vatican's true intent toward Turkey ....The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims ....into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that the pope is trying to re-appropriate a Christian centre that fell to the Muslims in 1453 when Byzantine Constantinople became Ottoman Istanbul,” the Guardian wrote.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=internation...61126&hn=38680
---------------------
"Thousands of Islamist Turks Protest Pope's Visit to Istanbul
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- About 20,000 Turks took part in a protest against Pope Benedict XVI's visit this week, accusing him ....
Protesters chanted ``Don't come, Insidious Pope'' ....
in a central square in Istanbul, .....
"``We are the grandchildren of the conquerors (sic !),
and it is our historical duty to tell the pope not to come,''
said Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey's first Islamist prime minister ...in 1998. He spoke to the crowd via a satellite link-up.
"...Nobody who speaks such erroneous and ugly words would dare to come,'' said Erbakan, whose Islamist Felicity Party organized the demonstration. Police estimated the crowd at 20,000. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...E6s&refer=home
--------------------------
<<Turks denounce pope's pilgrimage
20,000 at rally decry visit as slap at Islam over earlier remarks
Monday, November 27, 2006
(11-27) 04:00 PST Istanbul -- In the largest protest yet against the impending arrival here of Pope Benedict XVI, more than 20,000 Turks filled a town square Sunday to denounce the visit as an affront to Islam.
"....It is part of a devilish plan to prevent the tilt toward Islam," said Recai Kutan, the head of the Islamist Felicity Party, which organized the event.
....vocal groups of hard-line nationalists and radical Islamists have been protesting the visit.
This is by far the most problematic travel in Benedict's 19-month-old papacy.
His primary purpose is to reach out to Istanbul-based Orthodox Christians, who split from the Roman Catholic Church 1,000 years ago. But especially after the speech in Regensburg, Germany, the trip also is meant to improve relations with Muslims.
In that speech at the university where he once taught,..... the general message ... was that faith must be based on reason and not violence.
The Vatican has made clear that the pope is traveling to Turkey chiefly to meet the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, an ethnic Greek.
Although he is a Turkish citizen and has lobbied hard for Turkey's membership in the European Union,
Bartholomew is mistrusted by many in Istanbul ...."
Wary of the public mood, Turkey's moderate Islamic-led government has shied away from according the pope the level of hospitality customary for visiting heads of state. Many Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, will be out of town when he arrives.
.......
+ Benedict, in an effort to placate his Turkish hosts, agreed to meet with the top official in charge of the country's religious affairs at the official's Ankara headquarters.
+ Sunday, the Vatican announced the last-minute addition to the pope's schedule of a stop at Istanbul's landmark 17th century Blue Mosque.
+ Also Sunday, the Turkish news agency Anatolia quoted Benedict's spokesman as saying the Vatican does not oppose Turkey joining the EU.
Benedict, before becoming pope, said he opposed Turkey's inclusion in the EU because its Muslim character positioned it "in permanent contrast to Europe." >>
.....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&feed=rss.news
--------------
(etc).. [i]
==========================
PART 2
(../..) .....
<<"Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience," the men chanted, holding up a Turkish flag and a banner identifying them as being from an Istanbul branch of the "Alperen Ocaklari" (Alperen Association), an ultra-nationalist and Islamist group.
The group is considered to be an offshoot of the "Grey Wolves," a Turkish right-wing militant group dating back to the 1970s. The man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca, was a member of the "Grey Wolves." >>
<<Pope Benedict's trip will include a visit to Aya Sofya.
"Controversy surrounds the museum, originally the Byzantine Empire's Hagia Sophia church, which is regarded by many as one of the greatest buildings in the world.
It was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and became a museum in 1935. Turkish nationalists regularly voice anger at what they say are attempts to turn it back into a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061122/...e_protest_dc_1
---------------
"Turks whip up storm of disapproval over Pope's Istanbul visit "
"Pope Benedict was given another warning yesterday of what lies ahead for him in Turkey when more than 20,000 people demonstrated against his coming visit in central Istanbul and urged him to stay at home. "
"The demonstration, ... was the latest in a series of protests against the visit, which begins in Ankara tomorrow.
"First a man fired a gun outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and yelled that he wanted to strangle the Pope."
" Last week, members of the so-called Grey Wolves, the Nationalist Movement Party to which Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried to assassinate Benedict's predecessor in 1981, belongs, invaded Hagia Sophia, the ancient cathedral-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul,...in protest."
"In a last-minute change to the schedule, the Vatican announced that as well as visiting Hagia Sophia, the Pope will also call in on the Blue Mosque..."
"HAGIA SOPHIA
The most delicate moment of the visit is on Thursday, when he goes to the ancient church, now a museum, which is regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many nationalists and Islamists will be watching keenly: if the Pope prays here (which is forbidden), it will confirm their grimmest suspicions about his desire to rebuild the Byzantine empire. "
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2018690.ece
-------------------------------
"....Press Wonders if Pope will Pray at Hagia Sophia "
"Although the stated main goal of the four-day trip was to fortify relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians, the visit gained another dimension in September .."
The Guardian capitalized on another dimension of the trip, writing that the pope’s visit to Hagia Sophia, “one of the most sacred sites in Christendom,” would be “the most delicate moment” of the trip.
The paper asked, “Will the pontiff pray at Hagia Sophia?” According to the
"The eight minutes he is to spend in the cavernous St Sophia's on Thursday afternoon will be watched and weighed for signals of the Vatican's true intent toward Turkey ....The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims ....into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that the pope is trying to re-appropriate a Christian centre that fell to the Muslims in 1453 when Byzantine Constantinople became Ottoman Istanbul,” the Guardian wrote.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=internation...61126&hn=38680
---------------------
"Thousands of Islamist Turks Protest Pope's Visit to Istanbul
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- About 20,000 Turks took part in a protest against Pope Benedict XVI's visit this week, accusing him ....
Protesters chanted ``Don't come, Insidious Pope'' ....
in a central square in Istanbul, .....
"``We are the grandchildren of the conquerors (sic !),
and it is our historical duty to tell the pope not to come,''
said Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey's first Islamist prime minister ...in 1998. He spoke to the crowd via a satellite link-up.
"...Nobody who speaks such erroneous and ugly words would dare to come,'' said Erbakan, whose Islamist Felicity Party organized the demonstration. Police estimated the crowd at 20,000. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...E6s&refer=home
--------------------------
<<Turks denounce pope's pilgrimage
20,000 at rally decry visit as slap at Islam over earlier remarks
Monday, November 27, 2006
(11-27) 04:00 PST Istanbul -- In the largest protest yet against the impending arrival here of Pope Benedict XVI, more than 20,000 Turks filled a town square Sunday to denounce the visit as an affront to Islam.
"....It is part of a devilish plan to prevent the tilt toward Islam," said Recai Kutan, the head of the Islamist Felicity Party, which organized the event.
....vocal groups of hard-line nationalists and radical Islamists have been protesting the visit.
This is by far the most problematic travel in Benedict's 19-month-old papacy.
His primary purpose is to reach out to Istanbul-based Orthodox Christians, who split from the Roman Catholic Church 1,000 years ago. But especially after the speech in Regensburg, Germany, the trip also is meant to improve relations with Muslims.
In that speech at the university where he once taught,..... the general message ... was that faith must be based on reason and not violence.
The Vatican has made clear that the pope is traveling to Turkey chiefly to meet the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, an ethnic Greek.
Although he is a Turkish citizen and has lobbied hard for Turkey's membership in the European Union,
Bartholomew is mistrusted by many in Istanbul ...."
Wary of the public mood, Turkey's moderate Islamic-led government has shied away from according the pope the level of hospitality customary for visiting heads of state. Many Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, will be out of town when he arrives.
.......
+ Benedict, in an effort to placate his Turkish hosts, agreed to meet with the top official in charge of the country's religious affairs at the official's Ankara headquarters.
+ Sunday, the Vatican announced the last-minute addition to the pope's schedule of a stop at Istanbul's landmark 17th century Blue Mosque.
+ Also Sunday, the Turkish news agency Anatolia quoted Benedict's spokesman as saying the Vatican does not oppose Turkey joining the EU.
Benedict, before becoming pope, said he opposed Turkey's inclusion in the EU because its Muslim character positioned it "in permanent contrast to Europe." >>
.....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&feed=rss.news
--------------
(etc).. [i]
-------------------------
What is hidden behind "Turkish" attempt to intimidate Christian Pope Benedict ?
--------------------------
(Hasty Note).
- What we can all see even at the Internet, looks bad, very bad.
(See below).
Such provocative gross insults, open threats, (neverseen anywhere else in the World !), attempts to intimidate (and exploit it afterwards to get concessions), cannot but have dangerously Undemocratic aims.
Benedictus, his close entourage and all his real Friends, should be also aware of something that many converging Facts have shown recently :
- Behind controversial and undemocratic Turkish State's wrongdoings often looms a Transnational Network with interests in unethical and dangerous BioGenetic Manipulation on Embryos and on Humans in general.
History has shown that those who stand for, or against this bigger issue, where all Humankind is at stake, played a role during the tragedy of late Pope John-Paul II's death (which occured at a crucial moment for BioEthics at International and Regional levels), as well as during his own Election, from Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope Benedictus XVI in 2005.
The Main Point here and now, in 2006, seems to be that,
Christian Pope Benedictus, well known for his friendly and close cooperation with late Pope John-Paul II, as well as for his strong Ethical stance on Human Values, added to Visionary aims towards reunification of Christians, etc.,
should be well protected in his SAFETY, IF he is led to go on to this controversial trip to Turkey.
But not only that : Substantial issues appear inter-linked, at the same moment :
Benedict's trip was Initially to meet Christian Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeus, as a symbolic step towards reUnification of Christians. (Even if the Autonomy of National Churches make some of them more important, and FREE to chose a strong stance : Something virtually impossible for anyone submitted to the millenary Constantinople's - changed by the Turks in "Istanbul" - subordination to Ankara's authorities).
But, after recent Turkish a.o. Pressure, Threats, Distortions, gross Insults, and even veiled or open Threats (during last months, and Now), another, related, obvious Risk are also attempts to INTIMIDATE, Mislead, oblige to change Agenda, and push to a slipery slope leaning towards imposing some Undemocratic and/or unethical; wrong steps, on some Key issues of Major Importance.
It all looks as if some wrongdoers searched to Exploit Intimidation in order to push at Dangerous, slipery Concessions.
=> All real Friends and close Assistants, as well as a spontaneous, conscious Popular support Worldwide, should help Christian Pope Benedict to stand Firm and Strong, overcome what appears to be a Sly Trap in Turkey, avoid or dissipate any Misleading attempts to Deviate, and Focus on realizing his main, most important Objectives, for the benefit of all honest and faithful people, Christians and even Humankind.
___________________________
At any case, the obviously worrying Facts surrounding this Dangerous and Slippery Turkish visit are clearly without any Precedent in any Other part of the World !
Woever might have orchestrated this obvious attempt to Intimidate, and Exploit it for Manipulating People at the service of Dark Interests, should be unmasked and fail in their Evil aims :
(A Turkish man, hidden behind a woman, arbors : "Go Home, Pope !").
("AP - Sun Nov 26, 8:02 AM ET
A Turkish woman, wearing a headband that reads:"...let the pope not come!' attends an anti-pope rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. Thousands of Turks gathered ..")
____________________________________
[i] << ...No one expects a quiet visit for Benedict. There have already been protests, the largest of which was Sunday, when an estimated 25,000 Turks denounced Benedict as an enemy of Islam.
* The rally was in Istanbul, the ancient Christian capital of Constantinople where the pope plans to meet the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
* On Wednesday, about 40 members of a Turkish nationalist party occupied Istanbul's famous Haghia Sophia — a former Byzantine church and mosque — and chanted slogans against the pope.
* Banners unfurled in Istanbul earlier this week depicted Bartholomew and Benedict as a two-headed snake. (sic !)
* "He's coming to advance the ambitions of the Christian world. I don't want him to come," said Sadik Kar, a 43-year-old computer salesman, after prayers at an Istanbul mosque."
"...He's expected to draw attention to the treatment of Christian minorities in the Islamic world, including the vestige of the once-thriving Greek Orthodox community in Turkey. Earlier this month, an EU progress report on Turkey's membership bid urged more steps to boost rights of non-Muslim religious groups.
Benedict's visit also will revive memories of an Italian priest, the Rev. Andrea Santoro, who was killed by a teenage gunman in his church on Turkey's Black Sea coast in February. The slaying came amid widespread protests over cartoons depicting Muhammad that were first published by a Danish newspaper. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061127/...lamic_outreach
----------------
<<TURKEY: SALES OF POPE MURDER BOOK SOAR AHEAD OF BENEDICT XVI'S VISIT
Istanbul, 23 Nov. (AKI) - Sales of a controversial Turkish novel on a conspiracy to kill Pope Benedict XVI are on the rise ahead of the pontiff's historical visit to Turkey beginning next Wednesday - his first to an overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
.....
Yuvel Kaya's book, which features Benedict XVI in front of a burning cross with a bearded gunman aiming a rocket launcher at him, is on sale at major Turkish bookstores such as D&R, Kabalci, Pandora.
Despite the absence of any promotional campaign - no billboards, posters or pamphlets at bookstores - sales are rapidly picking up, according to Lale Yilmaz from Kabalci, one the country's biggest book stores. .....
"More copies of the book have been bought over the last 10 days than any other time," Zeynep Yaman an employee with Alfa Dagitim, one of the six companies distributing the books, told AKI.
To date some 10,000 copies of the book have been sold, ...for Turkey, "in its category, more than average," Yaman said.
.....
On Wednesday .... a protest against Benedict XVI by a group of ultra-nationalist Turks in Istanbul's symbolic Hagia Sophia. An ancient Eastern Orthodox Church, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque by the Ottoman Turks after they conquered Constantinople. ....
In February a Muslim teenage boy shot dead an Italian Roman Catholic priest in the northern city of Trabzon. The killing which appeared to be religiously motivated took place at the height of worldwide protests by Muslims againt cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers.>>
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_En...362690282&par=
----------------------------------
"Anti-Benedict incident ..."
" Ibrahim Ak delivered ... fired a pistol outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and shouted that he wanted to strangle the pope with his bare hands.
"God willing, this will be a spark, a starter … God willing, he will not come. If he comes, he will see what will happen to him," the 26-year-old Turk said ..."
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/news/157672.php
________________
"FEAR OVER POPE VISIT TO TURKEY"
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11262006...worldnews_.htm
"Pope's Turkey trot danger "
"When Pope Benedict visits Turkey on Tuesday, he might want to stay out of the bookstores.
The cover of the country's best-selling novel shows him in front of a burning cross with a bearded man aiming a rocket launcher at him. The subtitle: "Who will kill the Pope in Istanbul?"
It's just a potboiler about an Opus Dei conspiracy, but given the passions Benedict ignited in September with his comments about Islam, his first visit to a predominantly Muslim country as Pope is guaranteed to be tense. And the book has some people worried.
The Vatican's Istanbul envoy, Georges Marovitch, told reporters he was concerned "that some abnormal types may read the book and get ideas." "
"No one has forgotten that the last person to shoot a Pope was a Turk. Indeed, Mehmet Ali Agca, who seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, warned Benedict from prison to stay away. "Your life is in danger. You absolutely must not come to Turkey," he wrote in a letter published in Italy."
"The Pope's four-day visit was originally meant to improve relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches. But the import of the trip was transformed ...onto the front lines of the growing clash of civilizations between Islam and the West."
"...churches were set aflame and a nun was murdered"
"Benedict's first stop is the shrine of Kemal Ataturk"
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_r...p-399272c.html
----------------------------------
"Thousands rally in Istanbul against papal visit"
"The demonstration, organized by the Islamist Felicity Party (SP) ..entitled entitled "The pope is not welcome","
""You must first apologize ....and then come to these sacred lands," SP leader Recai Kutan told the rally,
calling Benedict XVI "a representative of grudge and hatred"
....
... Others said: "Ignorant pope, read your own history!" and "Pope, go home!"
.... Some waved ...Chechen flags."
"The rally highlighted another sensitive point the pope's program here has touched -- his planned visit to Hagia Sophia, a sixth century Byzantine church converted to a mosque in 1453, when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople. ...
"Opponents say the pope's planned visit Thursday to the building,...is an indication of Christian ambitions to reclaim it as a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061126...o_061126145827
------------------------------
<<"Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience," the men chanted, holding up a Turkish flag and a banner identifying them as being from an Istanbul branch of the "Alperen Ocaklari" (Alperen Association), an ultra-nationalist and Islamist group.
The group is considered to be an offshoot of the "Grey Wolves," a Turkish right-wing militant group dating back to the 1970s. The man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca, was a member of the "Grey Wolves." >>
<<Pope Benedict's trip will include a visit to Aya Sofya.
"Controversy surrounds the museum, originally the Byzantine Empire's Hagia Sophia church, which is regarded by many as one of the greatest buildings in the world.
It was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and became a museum in 1935. Turkish nationalists regularly voice anger at what they say are attempts to turn it back into a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061122/...e_protest_dc_1
---------------
"Turks whip up storm of disapproval over Pope's Istanbul visit "
"Pope Benedict was given another warning yesterday of what lies ahead for him in Turkey when more than 20,000 people demonstrated against his coming visit in central Istanbul and urged him to stay at home. "
"The demonstration, ... was the latest in a series of protests against the visit, which begins in Ankara tomorrow.
"First a man fired a gun outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and yelled that he wanted to strangle the Pope."
" Last week, members of the so-called Grey Wolves, the Nationalist Movement Party to which Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried to assassinate Benedict's predecessor in 1981, belongs, invaded Hagia Sophia, the ancient cathedral-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul,...in protest."
"In a last-minute change to the schedule, the Vatican announced that as well as visiting Hagia Sophia, the Pope will also call in on the Blue Mosque..."
"HAGIA SOPHIA
The most delicate moment of the visit is on Thursday, when he goes to the ancient church, now a museum, which is regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many nationalists and Islamists will be watching keenly: if the Pope prays here (which is forbidden), it will confirm their grimmest suspicions about his desire to rebuild the Byzantine empire. "
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2018690.ece
-------------------------------
"....Press Wonders if Pope will Pray at Hagia Sophia "
"Although the stated main goal of the four-day trip was to fortify relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians, the visit gained another dimension in September .."
The Guardian capitalized on another dimension of the trip, writing that the pope’s visit to Hagia Sophia, “one of the most sacred sites in Christendom,” would be “the most delicate moment” of the trip.
The paper asked, “Will the pontiff pray at Hagia Sophia?” According to the
"The eight minutes he is to spend in the cavernous St Sophia's on Thursday afternoon will be watched and weighed for signals of the Vatican's true intent toward Turkey ....The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims ....into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that the pope is trying to re-appropriate a Christian centre that fell to the Muslims in 1453 when Byzantine Constantinople became Ottoman Istanbul,” the Guardian wrote.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=internation...61126&hn=38680
---------------------
"Thousands of Islamist Turks Protest Pope's Visit to Istanbul
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- About 20,000 Turks took part in a protest against Pope Benedict XVI's visit this week, accusing him ....
Protesters chanted ``Don't come, Insidious Pope'' ....
in a central square in Istanbul, .....
"``We are the grandchildren of the conquerors (sic !),
and it is our historical duty to tell the pope not to come,''
said Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey's first Islamist prime minister ...in 1998. He spoke to the crowd via a satellite link-up.
"...Nobody who speaks such erroneous and ugly words would dare to come,'' said Erbakan, whose Islamist Felicity Party organized the demonstration. Police estimated the crowd at 20,000. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...E6s&refer=home
--------------------------
<<Turks denounce pope's pilgrimage
20,000 at rally decry visit as slap at Islam over earlier remarks
Monday, November 27, 2006
(11-27) 04:00 PST Istanbul -- In the largest protest yet against the impending arrival here of Pope Benedict XVI, more than 20,000 Turks filled a town square Sunday to denounce the visit as an affront to Islam.
"....It is part of a devilish plan to prevent the tilt toward Islam," said Recai Kutan, the head of the Islamist Felicity Party, which organized the event.
....vocal groups of hard-line nationalists and radical Islamists have been protesting the visit.
This is by far the most problematic travel in Benedict's 19-month-old papacy.
His primary purpose is to reach out to Istanbul-based Orthodox Christians, who split from the Roman Catholic Church 1,000 years ago. But especially after the speech in Regensburg, Germany, the trip also is meant to improve relations with Muslims.
In that speech at the university where he once taught,..... the general message ... was that faith must be based on reason and not violence.
The Vatican has made clear that the pope is traveling to Turkey chiefly to meet the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, an ethnic Greek.
Although he is a Turkish citizen and has lobbied hard for Turkey's membership in the European Union,
Bartholomew is mistrusted by many in Istanbul ...."
Wary of the public mood, Turkey's moderate Islamic-led government has shied away from according the pope the level of hospitality customary for visiting heads of state. Many Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, will be out of town when he arrives.
.......
+ Benedict, in an effort to placate his Turkish hosts, agreed to meet with the top official in charge of the country's religious affairs at the official's Ankara headquarters.
+ Sunday, the Vatican announced the last-minute addition to the pope's schedule of a stop at Istanbul's landmark 17th century Blue Mosque.
+ Also Sunday, the Turkish news agency Anatolia quoted Benedict's spokesman as saying the Vatican does not oppose Turkey joining the EU.
Benedict, before becoming pope, said he opposed Turkey's inclusion in the EU because its Muslim character positioned it "in permanent contrast to Europe." >>
.....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&feed=rss.news
--------------
(etc).. [i]
==========================
PART 2
(../..) .....
<<"Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience," the men chanted, holding up a Turkish flag and a banner identifying them as being from an Istanbul branch of the "Alperen Ocaklari" (Alperen Association), an ultra-nationalist and Islamist group.
The group is considered to be an offshoot of the "Grey Wolves," a Turkish right-wing militant group dating back to the 1970s. The man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca, was a member of the "Grey Wolves." >>
<<Pope Benedict's trip will include a visit to Aya Sofya.
"Controversy surrounds the museum, originally the Byzantine Empire's Hagia Sophia church, which is regarded by many as one of the greatest buildings in the world.
It was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and became a museum in 1935. Turkish nationalists regularly voice anger at what they say are attempts to turn it back into a church."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061122/...e_protest_dc_1
---------------
"Turks whip up storm of disapproval over Pope's Istanbul visit "
"Pope Benedict was given another warning yesterday of what lies ahead for him in Turkey when more than 20,000 people demonstrated against his coming visit in central Istanbul and urged him to stay at home. "
"The demonstration, ... was the latest in a series of protests against the visit, which begins in Ankara tomorrow.
"First a man fired a gun outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and yelled that he wanted to strangle the Pope."
" Last week, members of the so-called Grey Wolves, the Nationalist Movement Party to which Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried to assassinate Benedict's predecessor in 1981, belongs, invaded Hagia Sophia, the ancient cathedral-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul,...in protest."
"In a last-minute change to the schedule, the Vatican announced that as well as visiting Hagia Sophia, the Pope will also call in on the Blue Mosque..."
"HAGIA SOPHIA
The most delicate moment of the visit is on Thursday, when he goes to the ancient church, now a museum, which is regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many nationalists and Islamists will be watching keenly: if the Pope prays here (which is forbidden), it will confirm their grimmest suspicions about his desire to rebuild the Byzantine empire. "
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2018690.ece
-------------------------------
"....Press Wonders if Pope will Pray at Hagia Sophia "
"Although the stated main goal of the four-day trip was to fortify relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians, the visit gained another dimension in September .."
The Guardian capitalized on another dimension of the trip, writing that the pope’s visit to Hagia Sophia, “one of the most sacred sites in Christendom,” would be “the most delicate moment” of the trip.
The paper asked, “Will the pontiff pray at Hagia Sophia?” According to the
"The eight minutes he is to spend in the cavernous St Sophia's on Thursday afternoon will be watched and weighed for signals of the Vatican's true intent toward Turkey ....The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims ....into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that the pope is trying to re-appropriate a Christian centre that fell to the Muslims in 1453 when Byzantine Constantinople became Ottoman Istanbul,” the Guardian wrote.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=internation...61126&hn=38680
---------------------
"Thousands of Islamist Turks Protest Pope's Visit to Istanbul
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- About 20,000 Turks took part in a protest against Pope Benedict XVI's visit this week, accusing him ....
Protesters chanted ``Don't come, Insidious Pope'' ....
in a central square in Istanbul, .....
"``We are the grandchildren of the conquerors (sic !),
and it is our historical duty to tell the pope not to come,''
said Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey's first Islamist prime minister ...in 1998. He spoke to the crowd via a satellite link-up.
"...Nobody who speaks such erroneous and ugly words would dare to come,'' said Erbakan, whose Islamist Felicity Party organized the demonstration. Police estimated the crowd at 20,000. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...E6s&refer=home
--------------------------
<<Turks denounce pope's pilgrimage
20,000 at rally decry visit as slap at Islam over earlier remarks
Monday, November 27, 2006
(11-27) 04:00 PST Istanbul -- In the largest protest yet against the impending arrival here of Pope Benedict XVI, more than 20,000 Turks filled a town square Sunday to denounce the visit as an affront to Islam.
"....It is part of a devilish plan to prevent the tilt toward Islam," said Recai Kutan, the head of the Islamist Felicity Party, which organized the event.
....vocal groups of hard-line nationalists and radical Islamists have been protesting the visit.
This is by far the most problematic travel in Benedict's 19-month-old papacy.
His primary purpose is to reach out to Istanbul-based Orthodox Christians, who split from the Roman Catholic Church 1,000 years ago. But especially after the speech in Regensburg, Germany, the trip also is meant to improve relations with Muslims.
In that speech at the university where he once taught,..... the general message ... was that faith must be based on reason and not violence.
The Vatican has made clear that the pope is traveling to Turkey chiefly to meet the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, an ethnic Greek.
Although he is a Turkish citizen and has lobbied hard for Turkey's membership in the European Union,
Bartholomew is mistrusted by many in Istanbul ...."
Wary of the public mood, Turkey's moderate Islamic-led government has shied away from according the pope the level of hospitality customary for visiting heads of state. Many Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, will be out of town when he arrives.
.......
+ Benedict, in an effort to placate his Turkish hosts, agreed to meet with the top official in charge of the country's religious affairs at the official's Ankara headquarters.
+ Sunday, the Vatican announced the last-minute addition to the pope's schedule of a stop at Istanbul's landmark 17th century Blue Mosque.
+ Also Sunday, the Turkish news agency Anatolia quoted Benedict's spokesman as saying the Vatican does not oppose Turkey joining the EU.
Benedict, before becoming pope, said he opposed Turkey's inclusion in the EU because its Muslim character positioned it "in permanent contrast to Europe." >>
.....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&feed=rss.news
--------------
(etc).. [i]
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